Chapter 57: Murderous Intent Rings Loud (Seeking First Subscription~)

Before returning to Greenleaf Peak, Song Yan stopped by the Book Tower to return "Ancient Sword Tales."
In the days that followed, he continued to guide spiritual energy, refine sword qi, and practiced the art of sword control during his leisure hours.
Within the Two Elements Sphere, the black flames surrounding his "heart demon" seemed to slowly recede under the encircling embryonic shape of his Dao heart.
Yet Song Yan had no intention of extracting and refining the heart demon from the sphere until the flames had completely subsided.
The Two Elements Pearl had aided him greatly—even accepting his flying sword without his consent. There must be a reason for this.
One day, within his cave dwelling:
Song Yan sat cross-legged upon his stone bed, the small spirit-gathering array surging with spiritual energy around him.
He retrieved a white jade porcelain bottle from his Universe Bag.
Just as he was about to take out a pill, he suddenly frowned and stopped.
He continued refining spiritual energy, absorbed the last of the energy from the array, and slowly withdrew from meditation.
"Still a bit away from reaching the sixth layer of Qi Refining—not something to be accomplished overnight..."
"Blind perseverance only slows progress and breeds impatience."
He took a deep breath and put the pill bottle away.
Every pill was precious; they must be used wisely.
Rising from the stone bed, he stretched.
"Xiao He, I'm heading to the Heart Cultivation Hall to practice calligraphy. Would you like to come?"
"No, no!"
Xiao He was currently enamored with her collection of trinkets.
While Song Yan cultivated, she would wander off to play. Recently, she’d found a jade sphere with a deep groove in the center and shallow ones on the sides.
That dismantlable clay figurine with a hairpin, sword, and wine gourd, along with the jade sphere, were now her favorite treasures.
"Alright, then guard the house well."
"Got it."
Song Yan left the cave, departed Greenleaf Peak, and made his way toward the Heart Cultivation Hall.
Speaking of which, the freckled girl he had met at Lingyuan Marsh Market had never appeared again.
Clearly, sewing a Dao robe shouldn’t take so long.
At first, he thought the girl was a swindler.
But on second thought, spoiling one’s reputation for three spirit stones seemed hard to believe...
He didn’t need the robe for now, so he left it alone.
"Next month is the appointed time. If it hasn’t been delivered by then, I’ll need to visit the market and speak with that Seamless Garments proprietor."
Three-patterned spirit stones were still spirit stones.
Resources were accumulated bit by bit.
On the north bank of the Dao Gorge, at Ink Dao Hall:
Song Yan stepped into the courtyard. Senior Brother Sun Zhengfu remained seated at the center.
The two nodded and smiled at each other, wordless, as if greeting by gesture alone.
Today’s calligraphy assignment was a cursive script:
"The Mid-Autumn Letter."
Song Yan was not adept at it. He copied it several times, capturing its form but not its essence.
"Eh? Senior Brother Song!"
He turned in confusion and saw it was Gu Qingqing from Lotus Shade Peak, accompanied by a male cultivator in an inner sect Dao robe.
"Ah, Junior Sister Gu, what a coincidence."
"I’m here to complete this month’s assignment. Didn’t expect to meet you here."
Gu Qingqing’s serene face broke into a smile, revealing two shallow dimples.
The male cultivator stepped forward, standing closer to Gu Qingqing. "Junior Sister Gu, who is this?"
"This is Senior Brother Song Yansheng. Last time at Peach Blossom Cove, Senior Sister Qin brought Song and another called Li Qingfeng to rescue me."
"So you’re Junior Brother Song. Inner sect—Dan Zifeng. I’ve heard much about you."
Heard much?
Song Yan was taken aback. What reputation could he possibly have that an inner sect senior would know?
After thinking, it must be the incident when he returned from Silent Valley, and the three elders of Xuan Yuan Sect came to the Dao Plateau to interrogate him.
An outer sect disciple embroiled in controversy, cultivation lost—known throughout the sect.
Hardly a glorious matter.
Sensing the odd undertone in Dan Zifeng’s words, Song Yan felt perplexed.
This senior seemed to harbor hostility toward him.
Why?

His gaze drifted to Gu Qingqing—was it because of her?
Impossible.
He was not familiar with Junior Sister Gu at all.
At that moment, Sun Zhengfu in the courtyard shot them a glance, brows furrowed, as if hesitating.
His eyes settled on Dan Zifeng, growing dim. He muttered, "Disaster comes from the mouth... disaster comes from the mouth..."
Gu Qingqing, oblivious to Dan Zifeng’s odd tone, said, "Senior Brother Song has restored his cultivation, and his sword mastery is quite impressive—even Senior Sister Qin praised him."
"Oh? Is it truly so remarkable? Then I must spar with Junior Brother Song someday."
Song Yan waved a hand, "Hardly... My aptitude is dull; I can only polish a move or two, surely no match for Senior Brother Dan."
He had no inclination for idle chatter and returned to his writing.
Dan Zifeng seemed pleased with Song Yan’s "humility" as an outer sect disciple, which satisfied his inner sect superiority.
Turning, he noticed Gu Qingqing had already seated herself beside Song Yan, arranging brush and ink.
"..."
"Senior Brother, this script is really hard."
Song Yan replied casually, "Indeed. It’s cursive, so it demands greater control."
Gu Qingqing scratched her head, "I keep messing up here..."
"I’m not much better."
Song Yan handed her a sheet of his own writing.
"Pfft."
Gu Qingqing realized Song Yan was not being modest—his work was barely better than hers.
"Eh? Senior Brother Song..."
She uttered a soft exclamation, leaning in to see that Song Yan was not copying the Mid-Autumn Letter.
"Mm, I’ve finished that assignment. Now I’m writing freely, a script I found elsewhere."
The Mid-Autumn Letter was too difficult for him; instead, he wrote the Eight Desolations Return to Origin Sword Manual from memory.
Dan Zifeng sat at Gu Qingqing’s right, watching her chat and laugh with Song Yan, feeling annoyed.
As he was about to say more, Song Yan rose, ready to leave.
"Junior Sister Gu, Senior Brother Dan, I’ve finished my assignment. I’ll take my leave."
"All right, goodbye, Senior Brother Song."
Song Yan nodded and departed.
Just outside the courtyard, a familiar voice called him.
"Junior Brother Song."
"Yes? Does Senior Brother Sun need something?"
Sun Zhengfu said nothing, but patted him, accompanying Song Yan out of the Heart Cultivation Hall, speaking in a low voice.
"Do you recall the day the elders of Xuan Yuan Sect came to demand accountability..."
"The Sect Leader said they must send reparations?"
Song Yan nodded, "Yes, though I assumed it was mere intimidation..."
Sun Zhengfu sighed bitterly, "Junior Brother, our Sect Leader is a Golden Core cultivator—a word from him in Chu is law."
"No one dares take his words lightly..."
"So the reparations are real?"
Song Yan was shocked—so the hardships he’d endured were for nothing?
"Well..."
Sun Zhengfu explained, "When Xuan Yuan Sect sent the reparations, you were in seclusion. According to sect rules, they were left with the Inner Sect Tongchen Peak for safekeeping."
"Dan Zifeng is from Tongchen. He manages these affairs."
"He wouldn’t dare embezzle outright, but delaying a few days is no problem."
"They likely intended to wait until you lost hope in cultivation, then wrestle over it—by then, no one would complain if they appropriated your things..."
"Those who know may assume you’ve received them..."
"But I know Dan Zifeng’s character."
"Not only you—sect rewards, miscellaneous stipends—anything handled by him is subject to extortion."
"He always finds strange excuses, passing things off to elders or true disciples who are in seclusion."
"..."
Sun Zhengfu sighed.
"I doubt he ever told you about the reparations."
Song Yan’s eyes flickered.
"I’ve said all I can. What you do next is up to you."

Sun Zhengfu waved and departed.
Song Yan bowed, "Thank you, Senior Brother Sun."
"..."
Song Yan walked slowly back to his cave, pondering.
He wasn’t thinking, "What have I done to provoke him?" or "How could someone be like this?" but rather...
"How can I quietly..."
"Kill him..."
Song Yan was usually mild-mannered.
But now, someone sought to steal the cultivation resources that belonged to him...
Without resources, progress would be slow.
Lag behind in combat—death.
Fail to break through with limited lifespan—death.
To Song Yan, it was tantamount to a death sentence.
Strangely, his rage flared only for a moment, then faded, leaving a boundless cold calm.
"No rush..."
"No rush..."
"Can’t act within the sect."
He steadied himself, "I need a foolproof plan..."
"Besides..."
Dan Zifeng’s spiritual root aptitude was unknown, but judging from his aura, it was slightly inferior to Senior Brother Lin Qing—about late Qi Refining, seventh layer or so.
At present, Song Yan’s strength was insufficient.
"At least wait until after the Foundation Establishment cave affairs..."
He could tolerate other matters.
But his cultivation resources...
At this moment, Song Yan’s mind held only one thought, clear as crystal—to spare no effort...
By any means...
He must kill him!

...

In the Heart Cultivation Hall, Dan Zifeng did not write, seldom bothering with these assignments, considering them a waste of time.
As an inner sect disciple, he had many ways to evade such rules, such as hiring a disciple with spirit stones.
"This junior is rather rude. You came for him, yet he didn’t even wait for you to leave together."
"What are you talking about, Senior Brother Dan? Everyone has their own matters."
Gu Qingqing continued copying her calligraphy, unconcerned.
"We outer sect disciples must handle many chores and cultivate as well—it's exhausting."
"Junior Sister Qingqing, you needn’t trouble yourself so much. I..."
"Enough!"
Gu Qingqing set down her brush, picked up her most satisfactory work, scrutinized it, quite pleased.
"Mm... not bad. Isn’t it better than Senior Brother Song’s?"
Dan Zifeng replied without thinking, "Of course."
"Good! I’ll keep this one. Next time I see Senior Brother Song, I’ll show it to him."
"Senior Brother Dan, since you’re here, finish your assignment properly. I’m heading back to Lotus Shade Peak."
"Hey, Junior Sister Gu..."
The girl left the Heart Cultivation Hall, in high spirits.
Dan Zifeng’s expression darkened.
Song Yan cared little for what happened beyond his sight.
He was now hurrying back to Greenleaf Peak and his cave, his expression urgent.
Just now...
The Two Elements Pearl seemed to stir.

Thanks to reader "Shadow Mark" for the reward!
Thanks to readers "Shadow Mark," "Maerzchen," "Little Witch Dao," "good123456," "20191223063642521," "White Clouds Return," "20170209080007032," "Commander," "Le Xiaohui," "mcafee," "Dream Gugu" for the monthly tickets! Thanks everyone for your recommendations! Many thanks!